Arguably one of the most important features in an early game experience for MMORPG games: character creation. So why is it that so many games today totally ignore it and provide bog standard options and lackluster features? MMORTS games are currently one of the biggest culprits of this, often skipping character creation altogether and just offering players the choice of an avatar image. This can be excused to some extent as most of today’s strategy games don’t actually feature a main character, instead the player is represented by a base and a variety of combat units.
However, there is no excuse for the long list of MMORPG games that completely ignore any form of innovation in their character creation features. When I sit down to play an MMO game I want my character to be unique, an individual among thousands, just like we all are in reality. Instead I quite often find that I’m limited by a selection of 3 hair styles and a different face, resulting in contact with identical characters within minutes of entering the game world.
The free-to-play MMO world is obviously one of the biggest culprits in terms of genre. With a large majority of free-to-play games aiming to do nothing but suck people into micro-transaction features why should they bother cutting in any new ideas for a feature that is included in 99% of MMO games?
Some of the more popular MMO games put a lot more effort into character creation. Titles like Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic do offer a variety of races and in-depth options, but these kind of games are few and far between.
What are your thoughts? Do you think MMO games should put more effort into character creation or do you feel character uniqueness is achieved through progression and hard work? Leave us your thoughts below.